Goal Setting: A Vital Skill
-Tom Hopkins
The whole idea of setting goals is to plan your life rather than go bumbling along, muddling through, taking it as it goes. Begin by setting 20-year goals.
The most important part of goal setting is knowing what it is that you want. Once you decide what it is you want, write it down, so you don't forget. After you have written your goals down, keep them somewhere where you can see them, to reinforce and update them. It is surprising how many people do not have planned goals. How can you get where you want to be, if you don't know where you're going? Write down your goals. As you achieve them, don't just cross them off the list, when you've reached one, add another.
First, list the personal achievements you want to accomplish. Who and what do you want to be in 20 years? What do you want to own? Where, and in what kind of housing do you want to live? What are the status symbols you dream of? What do you want for your family? If you don't know what you want, how can you get it?
Take a hard look at the future and at yourself. Say, "That's the person I want to be in 20 years and I'm willing and eager to pay the price to become that person."
Once you have your 20-year goals sketched out, cut them in half and there are your 10-year goals. Halve them again for your 5-year goals. Do it one more time for your 30-month goals. Then, set up goals for the next 12 months.
Work on this one carefully. Then break it down into months, weeks and finally goals for the coming week and for tomorrow.
Have a set of goals for every day and review the results every night. It may seem like a lot of time and trouble, but isn't making a success of your life worth it? It's not the trouble that bothers you, it's the discipline. Think that through, because if you're not willing to accept your own discipline, you're not going to accomplish 2% of what you could and you'll miss out on 98% of the good things you could have.
Just think about it. Most people spend more time planning for a vacation than they do planning for their lives.
This material has been reprinted with permission of Tom Hopkins International, Inc. For more information on these and other sales training materials write: Tom Hopkins International; P.O. Box 1969, Scottsdale, AZ 85252.
